about the wolves
Basic facts
- Physical Characteristics
- About 3 feet
- Weighs approximately 50 pounds
- Reddish-brown coat
- Mane along its back, thus the name
- Prominent 7 inch long ears
- Dark legs with a white-tipped tail
- Habitat
- Can be found in the central and southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Peru.
- Primarily lives in open forests, savannas, and marshland.
- Diet
- Omnivorous
- Eat everything
- Plants
- Sugar cane
- Birds
- Small rodents
- Cuis
- Rabbits
- Baby viscachas
- Pacas
- Agoutis
- Fruit
- Birds
- Bird eggs
- Reptiles
- Insects
- Threats to extinction
- Habitat destruction
- Need large open spaces in order to survive
- Hunting
- Have almost no naturally occurring predators in the wild, but are killed by people for their body parts, as they are believed to have magical properties and are used in the medical field.
- Also killed for sport.
- Human invasion
- Agricultural land is continually expanded within the naturally occurring habitats of the maned wolf, forcing it to live in rural areas amongst humans.
- 42% of the world’s potential agricultural expansion is in Latin America. This has lead to large organizations and business figures attempting to obtain the land in order to expand industrially, technologically, agriculturally, etc.
- A prominent feud has ensued between these businessmen and environmentalists. A prime example of this is the Cerrado tropical Eco zone of Brazil (see below).
- They are now being faced with new predators, such as domestic dogs, that pose a new threat.
- Attempted Conservation
- “The National Zoo has been working to protect maned wolves for nearly 30 years and coordinates the collaborative, inter-zoo Maned Wolf Species Survival Plan, which includes breeding maned wolves, studying them in the wild, protecting their habitat, and educating people about them.” http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/amazonia/facts/manedwolffacts.cfm
- WWF is focusing on the preservation of the maned wolf, in particular the Cerrado, a massive Eco zone located in Brazil. The Cerrado contained a vast array of species, and due to its resources it has been targeted by organizations trying to commandeer its resources for decades.